Jim Seimas, Airing it Out: All-County Player of the Year David 'Digger' Gugale came up clutch for St. Francis in 2013 season

Friends and family often refer to St. Francis High sophomore David Gugale as "Digger," which is an awesome nickname given his prowess on the diamond.

The majority of Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League baseball coaches contacted earlier this week referred to him as something else: "Clutch."

Now, the Sentinel gives him yet another label: All-County Player of the Year.

Gugale -- a sure-armed shortstop who possessed an even more lethal bat -- batted .395 (34 for 86) with seven doubles, a county-leading five home runs, 24 RBIs and 21 runs scored. He also had a team-leading .651 slugging percentage.

He helped the Sharks go 20-8 overall -- their highest win total ever -- and 10-2 in SCCAL play to secure a share of the league crown, their first in program history. Soquel earned a share of the title by winning the SCCAL Tournament.

Soquel's Chris Viall is Pitcher of the Year and St. Francis' Kenny Nakagawa is Coach of the Year.

Gugale left little doubt he deserved top billing, even as a sophomore.

Four of his home runs came in league -- against San Lorenzo Valley, Harbor, Soquel and Scotts Valley -- and, seemingly, when his team needed it most.

His three-run shot in the season opener against visiting SLV came in the ninth inning, good for a 6-3 walk-off win. The Sharks said that shot and win gave them confidence that they could compete in league.

"He's a sophomore who plays like a senior," SLV coach Shane Sutcliffe said. "He treats it like Whiffle Ball," before clarifying, "He seems to have a lot of fun when he's playing. He has this confidence."

Nakagawa drew plenty of walks this season, some intentional, and Gugale often made opponents pay for the strategy. That was the case against SLV.

"He accepted the challenge," Sutcliffe said. "He wasn't afraid of anybody. It seemed like he relished the fact that someone would throw to him. He controlled the game like he was a star. He can flat-out swing it."

Said Harbor coach Joseph Allegri: "If we made a mistake, he hit it. He hit to all fields when he faced us."

Gugale's shot against Scotts Valley tied the score in bottom of the seventh on April 23, but the Falcons rallied for a run in the eighth to pull out a 7-6 win.

The Stanford University-bound ace was the talk of the county from Day 1. And the Knights' 6-foot-9 right-hander -- armed with his low- to mid-90 mph fastball and sharp, biting curve -- didn't disappoint.

Viall posted a 7-5 record, helping the Knights (17-12-2, 9-3) win the SCCAL Tournament and a share of the league crown with regular-season champion St. Francis. Two of his losses came against the Sharks.

One of his wins was a 2-0 no-hitter against Aptos on April 9. He struck out 15 and walked three. He also shined against the Mariners in the SCCAL Tournament Championship, recording 12 strikeouts in a 6-1 win May 9.

Viall posted a 1.45 earned-run average -- the lowest in the county among starting pitchers -- in 75 2/3 innings, while recording a county-leading 113 strikeouts against 35 walks.

Since 2000, only six county pitchers have recorded more than 100 strikeouts in a season. Viall is third to only Scotts Valley's Robbie Erlin (125 in 2009) and Aptos' Kevin Eichhorn (120 in 2008) -- both current professionals -- during that span.

"When he's throwing all his pitches, he's tough to beat," St. Francis coach Ken Nakagawa said. "From last year to this year was a huge improvement. I think he's going to be good. He's going to be special. When you get a guy that big who throws hard -- they don't come around too often."

Viall was drafted in the 39th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft on Saturday, even though he informed pro scouts last week that he would honor his commitment to Stanford.

He was also voted SCCAL pitcher of the year by league coaches.

"He dominated the league," Allegri said. "I don't think Soquel finishes where they do without him. ... He went from off the radar to a major arm (in just over a year). I've never seen that happen."

In Viall's final game May 18, he struck out a season-best 16 batters in a controversial 4-3 loss to Menlo School in the Central Coast Section Division III quarterfinals in Mountain View.

COACH OF THE YEAR

KEN NAKAGAWA, ST. FRANCIS

Nakagawa took a team that featured just two seniors -- his son Cal at third base and Fresno State-bound pitcher Dillon Houser -- into uncharted territory.

The Sharks claimed the school's first league title in the sport and earned a berth to the CCS D-III playoffs. It was just the second time in the school's seven-year history that it posted a winning overall record and first time it had a winning SCCAL record.

League coaches also voted Nakagawa coach of the year.

In addition to posting a school-best win total, the Sharks' schedule was also their toughest yet, featuring some of the nation's top programs at a Las Vegas tournament and a slew of testing non-league battles.

Given Gugale, Valenzuela and numerous other starters who are slated to return, the Sharks are poised for similar success in 2014.